“Labyrinth” is one of those movies that has stuck with me ever since I saw it (probably back in 1985) and I’ve watched it many times over the years. It opens with 15 year old Sara, who’s been charged with babysitting her baby brother, Toby while her step-mother and father go out to dinner. She’s not happy about it, mostly due to jealousy and unhappiness that her father has remarried. She’d also rather spend time in her imagination rather than face any responsibility.
When Toby starts getting fussy, Sarah starts telling him a story: “Once upon a time… there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. And the baby was a spoiled child, and wanted everything to himself, and the young girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew is that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her certain powers. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she called on the goblins for help!” Sarah calls out for the Goblin King to come and take her brother away. So imagine her surprise when Jareth the Goblin King (played devilishly by David Bowie) actually comes and takes Toby. Sarah immediately tries to recant her wish, but he tells her it’s too late. But he does agree to a bargain. If Sarah can get through his labyrinth and get to his castle at the heart of it, he’ll return Toby. But she only has 13 hours.
Sarah immediately starts making her way through the maze, and encounters strange and curious creatures. Some who appear nice are not, and others who seem scary are actually the nicest creatures she meets. The maze is filled with tricks and turns all designed to keep Sarah from finding the castle (but actually help her along…so its hard to tell which the Goblin King really intended).
“Labyrinth” is probably best for children eight and up. It’s not scary, but some of the images are strange and, for lack of a better word, trippy. You can definitely see the influence of fantasy artist Brian Froud (who designed much of The Dark Crystal) and in fact Toby is played by his son. The puppeteering was done by Jim Henson and his son and the castle was based on the drawings of M.C. Escher. Even author/illustrator Maurice Sendak (“Where the Wild Things Are”) was given acknowledgement by Jim Henson as a source of inspiration.
Labyrinth is rated PG, and stars Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, David Bowie and Brian Henson (as “Hoggle”)
Related blogs:
The Dark Crystal
The Princess Bride